According to China’s National Immigration Administration that the approval of the 144-hour transit visa-free exemption policy for foreign nationals will be implemented in Xiamen, Qingdao, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Kunming starting from January 1st, 2019.

Travelers from 53 countries with valid international travel documents and travel dates that fall within the 144-hour time period who can show a joint ticket that proves they’re headed to a third destination after China may enter the country visa-free from the relevant ports of the above-mentioned cities.

According to the national immigration administration, the 144-hour transit visa exemption policy for foreigners is a further optimization of the existing 72-hour transit visa exemption policy.

What’s really changed?

First, the visa-free stay time has been extended from the original 72 hours granted to 144 hours in each of those five cities.

Since 2013, the state council approved the addition of 18 cities including Beijing for a 72-hour visa-free entry for travelers originating from 53 countries, as well as the implementation of the 144-hour transit for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Shanghai, Suzhou, Zhejiang, Shenyang, Liaoning province and Dalian regions.

Allowing such short-term stays stimulates the development of local service industries, promotes the economic and social development of those regions, and further strengthens the relationship between China and foreign nations.

The list of countries this new transit visa exemption policy applies to is determined based on the number of foreign arrivals and transit as well as the number of international inbound and outbound flights.